Scenic River Bluff Trails Create Unique Challenge for Endurance Runners

GRAFTON - Runners will take to rarely used trails at Pere Marquette State Park early Saturday, May 16, 2026, as the inaugural Piasa Trail Races bring endurance events to Grafton's river bluffs.

The Piasa Trail Races are scheduled for Saturday, May 16, at Pere Marquette State Park, with races beginning as early as 6 a.m. and concluding at 2 p.m., according to Lev Smolianski, the park’s natural resource coordinator. The event will run through the park’s trail system, with the start and setup based at the lodge and visitors center at 13112 Visitors Center Lane in Grafton.

“This is the very first event,” Smolianski said.

Organizers plan multiple distances, including a 50K, 25K, and 12K. Smolianski said the 50K field is expected to include 23 runners and that they are currently set up for 108 participants. He also said “80 percent of those participating in the 25K or 12K will be in their first trail run ever,” describing the event as “very accessible to St. Louis and the local area.”

The 50K starts at 6 a.m., and the 12K and 25K races begin at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 16.

Custom, hand-crafted Piasa artwork will be given to the top three overall finishers in each distance. Two age-group finishers in the Solo and Buddy divisions will also receive custom awards by local artists, organizers said.

Smolianski said runners will still be accepted if they arrive by 5 a.m. Saturday at the lodge and visitors center, or up until 20 minutes before the start of the respective races.

The race course is part of the attraction, he said, because it includes trails not typically accessible to the public. “Part of the draw is we opened trails not normally accessible to the general public outside of this race,” Smolianski said, adding that some horse trails will be closed that day.

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